Black swirls branded themselves into his flesh, wrapping up his hand, his arm, shackling his throat in a noose of ink. Branded. Buried.
Ronan staggered, staring at his hands, at the obliteration where his father had been now, clouded in only stillness, only dust. “What the fuck,” he dropped to his knees, bound in his own prison, “have I done?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to all six gods that when I opened them, I’d be back in my own body, staring up at the dragons stitching joy across the sky.
Ronan had killed his father.
He hadn’t wanted to, hadn’t meant to, but he had. And there had been no triumph, no glory, only the unraveling of what destiny had already decided.
Being back on the balcony felt surreal. My body still stood at the railing, the wind still tangling through my hair. The sea rolled below, its movement unchanged, the sky still trapped in the same quilt of clouds. Like no time had passed at all. Just a blink. That’s all it had been. Not the reliving of one of Ryuu’s bloodiest betrayals.
I turned to where Willa sat, her posture statuesque, curls silvered by the wind. She didn’t look at me. Her eyes were fixed on the horizon, waiting for something only she could see. My shoulders sagged as I dragged myself tothe chair beside her, collapsing, the cushions giving beneath me. Even the furniture seemed tired of truths too heavy to hold.
“Willa—”
“Where did you go?” Her voice carried like the wind off the sea.
My head snapped toward her. “What?”
“Ronan’s memory.” Still, she stared ahead, lost somewhere I couldn’t follow. “Where did it bring you?”
My throat tightened. How the hel did she...
I didn’t ask, didn’t have the strength to. And right now, I didn’t care.
“I don’t understand,” I muttered instead. “Why did Luamis attack Ryuu? IknewQueen Leora. Like a mother. She would never,” my voice thinned, “neverbetray the kingdoms.”
At last Willa blinked as she said, “She was unwell. It was hidden, but she was dying. That is why King Sebastian called the council at Nyctom.”
I swallowed, not understanding. “It makes no sense. Rhydan was betraying Ryuu and givingFritzthe heirloom for Luamis. What was the cost, what could he possibly gain?”
“Love is a deadly power,” she whispered. “Always tainting. Always tarnishing. A corruption stronger than the curse that hides inside you.”
I shot to my feet, pacing, fists curling tight. “Did Fritz know she was dying? And instead of asking for help, he traded…what? How could the sword of Ryuu save her?” Acid burned in my chest, rising sharp. “The Kaida, gods, they have healing magic. Why didn’t he just fucking ask them for help? What could Rhydan have lost in order to—”
The wind howled through the palace’s stone ribs. Somewhere beyond, a dragon’s cry broke against the cliffs, long and low.
“What happened to Ronan’s mother?” Another lock clicked into place. “He doesn’t talk about her. No one does. Did Rhydan betray his kingdom for her, to save her too?”
Willa said nothing.
“Fates, give mesomething.” I didn’t want to beg her, but I needed to understand. “Anything. He told Ronan in that memory that someday he would understand. Someday he would do the same damn thing. And he is. He fucking is.” My voice fractured. “He’s going to war because ofme.”
“Yes.” The word sounded like it broke Willa too. “History is repeating itself. Far too soon.”
My breath hitched, fists trembling at my sides. “I won’t let him do this, it’s madness. He’s lost too much already.” My head snapped in a hard refusal, venom sliding beneath my skin. “Does he even know I saw the memory? I can’t feel him. I can’t reach him—”
She tilted her head, studying me. “It is an extraordinary thing, to share memories. Even those steeped in sorrow. To see through your mate’s eyes is a gift in itself.”
“That’s not—” I froze, the words ripped from me. “What did you just say?”
She blinked slow, silver brows knitting. “You wear the mate mark.” A dip of her chin to my arm. “The scent clings to you.”
Everything in me stopped.Everything.
I looked down, to the flaming spirals etched across my skin. “That’s a blood oath. I almost died. He just…he lent me his magic.”
“No.” Willa’s voice came absolute. “That is not how blood oaths work. You cannot share magic that way. You can, however,” her eyes glimmered, “as mates. When the bond is completed.”
